by Rochus Misch
First published 2020
Rochus Misch stands guard outside the Fuhrer's office, monitoring phone calls and watching visitors come and go. After wounds from the Polish campaign brought him into Hitler's inner circle, he serves as bodyguard, courier, and communications chief until the war's end. Misch observes Eva Braun hosting parties at the Berghof and watches Heinrich Himmler and Albert Speer navigate the corridors of power. He mans the switchboard during the July 20th assassination attempt and overhears Hitler's private doubts about Stalingrad. As Allied forces close in, Misch descends into the Fuhrerbunker with the last loyalists. Even after Hitler's suicide, duty keeps him at his post, operating communications equipment while the Third Reich collapses around him. His position demands absolute loyalty, yet his keen eye captures intimate details of life inside Hitler's private world during those final desperate months.
Genres: biography, history, 20th-century, military-history
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: insider-perspective, loyalty
Setting: Berghof, Führerbunker
Period: World War II
384 pages · Kindle Edition · Frontline Books
Content warnings: violence